Suspect who escaped locked police car caught in Georgia

The man police say escaped a locked cop car while handcuffed this week is now in custody 200 miles from home.

Juan Sebastian Cardona was caught in Duluth, Georgia, just after 1 a.m. Thursday. Police plan to go pick him up and bring him back to Ranlo.

He was arrested without incident while staying at a Georgia motel, said Ranlo Police Chief Tim Anderson.

"The only thing he reportedly said was, 'You already know who I am,'" Anderson said.

Cardona is accused of stealing the identities of several people, allowing himself access to their bank accounts and siphoning off more than $2 million of their money. Police initially arrested Cardona Aug. 16, after stopping him and reportedly discovering eight ID cards, including three North Carolina licenses and a South Carolina concealed weapons permit. They also found a .45-caliber handgun.

A magistrate judge granted Ranlo Police a warrant to search Cardona's Wicklow Drive home. There they found several guns, including an AR-15 with a scope, cartons of bullets, fake ID cards and real credit cards that allowed him access to several different bank accounts. Anderson said they found fake Social Security and financial forms and that the suspect had access to bank accounts worth several million dollars.

Police used some of that evidence seized to track him to the Georgia motel, Anderson said.

Cardona was initially booked into Gaston County Jail on 15 different counts, including carrying a concealed weapon, financial identity fraud and financial card theft. Cardona posted a $100,000 bond less than 48 hours after his admittance as an inmate into the jail.

Among the property police seized from Cardona's home was a 2017 California edition Mustang. Two bullet holes lined the car, and police say a shell casing was found on the floorboard. Anderson determined the vehicle was stolen from a dealership in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, and police proceeded to arrest him for that early Tuesday morning.

Cardona was handcuffed and placed into the back seat of a police car, though he didn't stay there for long.

"He managed to slip his left leg between the driver’s seat and driver’s door and hit the unlock button,” Anderson said on Tuesday.

Police believe another person opened the car from the outside and that the two might've fled on foot to George Poston Park before hopping into a ride. Police are still looking for that second person, Anderson said.

The evidence Ranlo collected included information that Cardona became a naturalized citizen of the United States under a false name, that he served in the military in his native Colombia and traveled back and forth through the United States and the South American country.

Police found GoPro footage collected by Cardona’s previous interactions with police, including one Ranlo officer. Anderson said the man would refer to officers as “Nazi Germany.”

Cardona's alleged victims include small businesses and individuals both local and from outside Gaston County, Anderson said.

“We’re not talking about small amounts of money,” Anderson said this week. “We’re talking about large amounts of money that plays a large role in everybody’s life.”

Federal agents should come to Ranlo next week to assist the local police department with its investigation, Anderson said.

You can reach Adam Lawson at 704-869-1842 or on Twitter @GazetteLawson. Managing Editor Kevin Ellis contributed to this report.